The spoof comedy that set the gold standard for all that followed it, AIRPLANE takes shots at the slew of disaster movies that peppered cinemas in the 70s. When the passengers and crew of a jet are incapacitated due to food poisoning, a rogue pilot (who has a drinking problem and is afraid of flying) must cooperate with his ex-girlfriend turned stewardess to bring the plane to a safe landing. No disaster flick cliche is left unroasted, and the musical score itself takes a less than reverent look at overly melodramatic compositions.
A tongue-in-cheek spoof of the disaster genre.
A former wartime flight commander has to take control of a jet after every pilot aboard comes down with food poisoning -- even though he's now too scared to fly.
The airplane's passengers include a wild assortment of comic loonies.
The plot of this film -- on which the spoof is hung -- is based on a 1957 movie called "Zero Hour!" The film also borrows from the more recent disaster film "Airport."
Although this was a low-budget film, it did better than many of the big budget movies of that year.
Available to buy in the UK.
Review 1:
"...Jokes -- hilarious jokes -- to spare....Clever and confident and furiously energetic..."
Source: New York Times
p.C17 07/02/1980
Review 2:
Included in the New York Times "10 BEST FILMS OF 1980"
Source: New York Times
p.II:15 12/28/1980
Review 3:
"...Nonstop comic invention made AIRPLANE! one of the funniest...comedies of our time..." -- Rating: A
Source: Entertainment Weekly
pp.126-8 09/16/1994
Review 4:
"...Most of the gags hit the mark, and the dialogue's as quotable as ever..."
Source: Total Film
p.100 03/01/2001
Review 5:
"[A] cornucopia of geeky slapstick, self-referential jokes, and satirical pastiches..."
Source: Premiere
p.13 12/01/2003
Review 6:
"[T]he contrarian casting of deadpan actors like Leslie Nielsen reinvented careers by making every utterance a punchline." -- Grade: B+
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.67 12/16/2005
Review 7:
Ranked #15 in Rolling Stone's "Top 25 DVDs Of 2005' -- "You are certain to laugh."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.98 12/01/2005
Review 8:
5 stars out of 5 -- "[W]ithout doubt one of the funniest movies ever made."
Source: Total Film
p.119 07/01/2006
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